I now share with you one of these revealed messages, which message I believe is appropriate for any Christian today as we enter these last days of ever-increasing darkness before Christ appears and renews all. I believe that this message is instructional and helpful to give feedback to each believer regarding his/her present condition of holiness.
Many of us are familiar with the verses of Rom 12: 1-2, where the apostle Paul in his letter to the believers in Rome, pleads with those in Rome, and by extension to us today, to present ourselves as a living sacrifice which is HOLY and acceptable to God, and that to do so is one's reasonable service to God (i.e., what is EXPECTED of us, and not something exceptional). Verse 2 says that we are to be TRANSFORMED by RENEWING OUR MIND to be able to discern the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.
So, then what is the will of God? I had been giving that much thought. I was looking for understanding and for practical, useful instructions on how to renew my mind. For several days prior to my nap I had been thinking about these two verses in Romans and how they could be accomplished in a simple way that I could understand and implement.
Psalm 89: 14 describes how God's throne (i.e., His authority) is founded on righteousness (doing what is right) and justice (being perfectly fair without discrimination or favoritism), and that mercy and truth flow outward from Him. Zephaniah 2: 3 states, "Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness." Proverbs 3: 3 states, "Let not mercy and truth forsake you. So, it must be God's will for us to also live this way.
We should always do what is right and what is fair. We should always show mercy and speak the truth in love. In 1 Pet 1: 14-16, we are reminded that God is holy and that we are required to be holy, as obedient children. To be holy we need to change (i.e., be transformed) from being unholy. Sounds logical, right? But, how?
A theological description for the transformation process might be written by a seminary professor or a bible college lecturer, as something like this:
When a logos word of God is heard or read from the Bible, and is stored in
the mind, and is meditated on and prayed on for understanding, it will give
birth to a rhema word which will cause the heart to be incrementally transformed
toward a better condition which is closer to the heart (mind) of Christ.
OK. So what exactly does that mean? How do I do it? How do I know whether or not I am on track?
I believe that answers to these questions were given to me by God during a nap I took one afternoon in November 2009. The basic points to the message are numbered as Steps 1 and 2, below. I have added scripture cites to support the message I received from God during my nap. I did not receive the scripture cites shown herein during my nap, but I looked them up later. Not surprisingly, the basic points of the message I received were found in God's word after I did a little searching.
Step 1. Renew your mind - change the way you think
To accomplish this, we must line up our thinking with the word of God. Very simple idea, but very difficult to do if we do not know the word of God. Our mind must be "reprogrammed" with God's word. So, the first thing we need to do is to become familiar with God's word by reading it, listening to it, and meditating on it. In Rom 10:17 it is written that, "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." You cannot meditate on that of which you are ignorant.
Meditation on the word we read and/or hear must be done for its meaning to become clear, or at least more understandable and useful for our goal of renewing our mind. The Holy Spirit helps us with this task.
King David, over 3,000 years ago, wrote the words found in Psalm 1: 1-2, which describe how one who meditates on God's word will be blessed. I believe that at least part of the blessing such a person receives is the understanding of what God wants of us, which is revealed through His word. So then, understanding of His word is necessary to help us renew our mind.
As a preliminary matter, we must bring into captivity every thought in obedience to Christ (2 Cor 10: 5) and stop thinking thoughts which run contrary to Christ (Christ, who is the Word of God). But, as I said, we must know God's word before we can bring thoughts into captivity and determine whether our thoughts line up with God's word.
According to Phil 4: 8, our thoughts (meditations) should be focused on things which are: noble, just, pure, lovely, involving good news, virtuous, and praiseworthy. Any thought which does not fall into one of these categories is to not remain fixed in our thoughts.
OK. How? I've got problems with my job, my family, my wife, my husband, my kids, my mortgage. How do I ignore these problems and think only on those lovely things described in Phil 4?
Answer -- Praise!
What? Are you kidding? I've got real-time life issues. I don't have time to praise God, and how can I praise Him while things are going so wrong?
Answer -- Praise!
Re-read Phil 4:4. It says, "rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. Again I will say, REJOICE!" Paul wrote that instruction. If you don't think that he had many real-life issues then look at the short list of what he went through, which is recorded in 2 Cor 11: 25-28.
Paul was beaten with rods (sharp blows with a metal or wooden pole in the back and behind the legs); he was stoned to the point of death, he was shipwrecked three times and on one of those occasions spent a day and a half floating and drifting in the sea; he had long journeys by foot covering long distances; he was in danger during his journeys of drowning, of being robbed, of being persecuted by Greeks, Jews and Gentiles; he was in danger in the cities to which he traveled and in the countryside he traversed to get to the cities; he was often bone-tired and weary; and he was often without much sleep, hungry, thirsty and without warm or comfortable clothing. These things are but a short compilation of his problems.
Yet, in spite of all these things he endured. Many of us do not come close to having to endure any one of these things, yet Paul, who endured all these things tells us to rejoice ALWAYS. Paul lived the life of which he preached. He lived and breathed the word of God.
It is recorded in the Book of Acts at 16: 24-26 how Paul, and Silas his traveling companion, were put in stocks and chains in a dark prison in Philippi after being unjustly beaten by a local magistrate. At midnight, they were not complaining, but were singing hymns and rejoicing to God. An earthquake followed which caused their chains to be broken. I believe that the earthquake was God's reward to them for their praise in the face of their adversity. I believe that He will also get us through our real-life issues and give us a means of escape from them, if we remember Him and go into praise mode in the midst of the adversity. Praise Him for who He is and for what He has given us -- not the problems.
Step 2. Transform your heart - be aware of the condition of your heart
The message I received during my nap included the thought that the condition of your heart can be represented by the 4 types of soil described by Jesus in the parable of the sower and the seed. Slightly different versions of this parable are recorded in Mat 13: 3-9, 18-23; Mark 4: 3-8, 14-20; and Luke 8: 5-8, 11-15. Each version gives additional information on the meaning of the parable which is not found in the other versions. Taken together, they give the complete description of the 4 soil types, which is a real-time snapshot of the condition of one's heart.
Your heart can be thought of as your "thought/belief system." This is evidenced in Prov 23: 7, where it says, "as he thinks in his heart, so is he." Also, Mat 12: 34 states that, "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."
Most of us are familiar with the parable of the sower told by Jesus to the crowd gathered to Him on a large level area on a mountainside near the Sea of Galilee. The parable was given as a part of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" when He gave to those listening the "beatitudes" concerning required behavior, such as "love you enemy", etc. The parable of the sower can be summarized using the three versions found in the Gospels, as follows:
A sower went out to sow seed and some fell on the wayside and the birds came to devour it. Some fell on stony ground and immediately it sprouted, but because there was not much depth of soil it had no root and it withered away in the sun's heat. Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked the seed and it yielded no crop. Lastly, some seed fell upon good ground which yielded a crop, some of which had a 30-fold increase, some a 60-fold and some a 100-fold.
Jesus later told his disciples privately that the seed sown was the word of God, that the soil is the heart, that the first type of soil - the wayside (a hard packed path upon which travelers walked) represents those who do not understand the word and do not keep it in their heart. They allow the devil come and take it from their heart immediately after they hear the word. This represents those who are unsaved. (See Luke 8: 12)
The second type of soil - the stony ground represents those who hear the word of God but then fail to have faith in it or rely on it when difficult circumstances or temptations arise. In the modern vernacular, these are "powerless Christians" who are believers who perhaps received the word with joy but who spend not much time in church, or in reading the Bible, or in Bible study, or in any other activity which would increase their understanding of the word and thereby their faith. They do not have personal "depth of soil" which would give them "root in themselves." Therefore, their understanding of the word of God, and thus their faith in the word of God, is quite limited.
The third type of soil includes thorns which choke the seed, preventing it from bearing fruit. This represents those who are perhaps "spirit-filled believers", but who allow the cares, concerns and pressures of the world, and the pursuit of riches/material things, to prevent any fruit from fully developing and maturing in them. I believe that this is the most common type of condition of soil found in the true body of Christ today. We need to put aside worldly pursuits to be able to transform our heart (belief system) to the condition represented by the fourth type of soil. As stated in Col 3: 2, "set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."
The fourth type of soil represents those who hear the word of God, accept it, understand it, and bear fruit. It is "those who hear the Word and and keep it (hold fast to it) in an honest and good heart" (Luke 8:15) They will bear fruit with patience (in time). Some a 30-fold increase, some a 60-fold and some a 100-fold. As James 1: 22 tells us, "be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
A perfect model of holy living, representing the fourth type of soil, is described by Paul very succinctly in Titus 1: 11-14 and 3: 2. Paul lays out in his letter to his student Titus, who is going to head up a church of believers, how those believers in Jesus Christ whom Titus is to shepherd should conduct themselves. He reminds Titus that the grace of God has appeared (through Jesus) to the world, and that through this grace all people have access to God's salvation. He says that because of this grace, we are:
- being trained to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions (selfish desires and covetness)
- to live self-controlled, upright (doing what is right), and Godly lives
- to wait patiently (while living Godly lives) for the return of Jesus in His glory
- to be zealous for good works (to evidence that we are true believers)
- to speak evil of no person
- to show perfect courtesy toward all people
In summary -- how you think and what you believe reveals the condition of your heart (the type of soil) at any given time. How you think and what you believe cause you to act a certain way and to do and/or say certain things.
Thoughts control action. That is why Step #1 above is a necessary fist step in the process to change the condition of the heart (the soil-type) and to bring it into alignment with the heart of God. To do so, we must know the word of God, which is God's heart. Every thought we have, in regard to an action we intend, should line up with God's word. We must seek its meaning if we do not understand. Then, we must do God's word. If you do these things you will change (transform) your heart in time, and with patience.
The condition of your heart (how you think and what you believe) determines whether you are saved, and if you are saved, whether you will produce any fruit of the Spirit in your life. The 12 fruits of the Spirit are given in Gal 5: 22-23. That list includes: love, joy, peace, patience, etc.
We must remember to praise God for who He is and not be consumed by our worldly troubles. Do so and watch the results.
For me personally, I try to give praise and remind myself to "weed my garden" often to keep the weeds and thorns from choking out fruit from being produced in my life. I also need to confess what I do wrong and ask for forgiveness. It humbles you, but it's necessary. Nobody said it was easy.
The "time of trouble" spoken of throughout the Old Testament is indeed just around the corner. It is time to repent and to prepare your heart to seek the Lord to escape things to come and to be hidden in the time of trouble. (Psalm 27: 5; Zeph 2: 3; Rev 3:10)
2012 - True Believer
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